Cooptender coop door problems help needed

[HenOnAJuneBug]

The battery is always charged with the solar panel. We have no electricity to the coop and taking the battery out is a pain as you have to screw the thing open from the top (where it sits in the frame).

How do you know that the solar charger is fully charging the battery? I'd bet that if you ran an A/C extension cord to the coop to plug into the unit or ran a trickle charger for the battery, this problem would go away.

 

[123RedBeard]

Like JT said, a fuse will blow, no power can go through ... imagine a broken or disconnected wire ... will not cause a "come & go" condition ... either it has electricity, or it doesn't ... it will not "fix it self".

Now a "circuit breaker" could reset, and come back on, once it cools off ... it is kinda like a resetable fuse, but more expensive, it shuts down when there is a short, or too heavy of a load, then resets, either manually, or automaticly ...

I'd seriously check condition of battery and cables ... if cables are loose, or dirty, corrosion type problem ... or low voltage with a real meter.

 

[HenOnAJuneBug]

Did the fuse look like this

or this?

 

[HenOnAJuneBug]

When it first happened we thought we had a bad battery since it was sitting there for months so we bought a new one. Both batteries acted the same and after we exchanged the fuse both batteries worked perfect until the next fuse blew.

If what you replaced was a fuse (rather than a diode) and it started working, then it sounds like you have an overcurrent situation (if the fuse was blown). That can be caused by a loose connection close to the fuse (resistance goes up causing heat in the wire which melts the fuse) or there's an intermittent short.

Or perhaps there's a loose connection somewhere and when you replaced the fuse it jostled the connection back into position temporarily, but vibration caused by the motor causes it to reopen intermittently.

If/when it stops working again, check to see if the fuse is blown. If no, it's not an overcurrent situation.

 

[HenOnAJuneBug]

This is what a diode looks like (typically)

 

[Zwillingsmama]

We ran a power cord and it is not working either. We checked the battery and it’s fully charged ( at least during the day). The fuse is a mini fuse like the one in the first picture. We checked all connections we did - what came with the door looks complicated almost like the inside of a computer and I wouldn’t even know where to start looking.
Thank you all for your input.

 

[HenOnAJuneBug]

Manual says this if door doesn't open or close

• Ensure that there is power to the unit
• If running from solar power, ensure that the battery has sufficient charge. Door will not open if voltage is below 9 volts.
• Check to ensure that the power switch is in the on position
• Clean worm drive as indicated in Maintenance
• Check the fuses. See Appendix E - Power Switch – AC/DC Fuse and Battery Fuse
• Review the door control status on the LCD. If the status display reads: Door Control Manual, then the door will not open and close automatically
• Review the schedule or dawn / dusk settings depending on the door control method you desire to ensure that the settings are as expected
• Review Freeze Protect settings to determine if it is overriding door control. Status display will show Freeze Protect – Active if it is preventing door from opening

I bolded clean worm drive because if it is clogging I can see that causing the motor to bog down and possibly blowing the fuse.

Over time, dirt and feather particles can accumulate on the worm drive (Acme threaded rod which operates the door) and make it hard for the motor to turn. Perform maintenance annually, more frequently if coop is densly populated.

 

[Zwillingsmama]

The lights look normal like they should during daylight and we can switch from the dusk to dawn setting to manually open and close the door but when we switch back to dusk/dawn setting (and yes we reset everything eg. unhook the solar panel) it will not close the door (we programmed a 20min delay for late chicken) and it the morning all lights are off. Those will come back on with a Reset.

 

[HenOnAJuneBug]

The lights look normal like they should during daylight and we can switch from the dusk to dawn setting to manually open and close the door but when we switch back to dusk/dawn setting (and yes we reset everything eg. unhook the solar panel) it will not close the door (we programmed a 20min delay for late chicken) and it the morning all lights are off. Those will come back on with a Reset.

What lights are off in the morning? All 4 LEDs? Does the LCD screen have power?

 

[HenOnAJuneBug]

Do you only have problems with the door opening in the morning, or also closing at night?